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Dead Frontier/Issue 114
This is Issue #114 of Dead Frontier, titled Forget. ''This is the final issue in '''Volume 19.' Issue 114 - Forget The front window of the store threatens to falter under the weight of the infected. By the time they realized they wouldn’t be able to hold them off any longer, too many had already approached the building, putting them in their current position. Duke stands a few feet away from the window, a revolver in his grasp. He points it at the infected, contemplating whether or not it’s worth it to fire, thus shattering the window and possibly attracting more. He decides their numbers are a little too large to risk going at them without a firearm, so he pulls the trigger. The glass crumbles and falls to the floor with the shot, but he also hits an infected right between the eyes. Lienne, Adam, and Dean follow his lead and fire recklessly, while everyone else stands near the store’s rear, ready to intervene if needed. It doesn’t take long for the groaning crowd to thin out considerably, until Duke stops firing and holds his hand up. The rest of the shots cease at his gesture. All it takes is for him to quickly reach to his left, towards the bag on the ground, and retrieve a rusted, red crowbar for everyone else to follow suit. Duke quickly uses the crowbar to smash in the skulls of two infected trying to crawl through the window. A few more approach, but Duke disregards them; Lienne, Adam, and Dean have fled out the front door and proceed with their assault, focusing mostly on the infected gathered around the trucks. Duke beckons everyone from the back of the store, and if they have a weapon in their possession, they make sure to use it. As much as he hates his cane, Cole has to admit it's got a few other practical uses. He flees through the front door behind the others, and opens the back door of one of the trucks. He ushers Ivy and Jake inside, keeping his eye on an approaching infected. Before sliding in, he swings the cane to his left; the end of it smashes the infected in the jaw, and the entire bottom-half of its face falls to the ground. It stumbles at the force of the blow, and ends up face first in the cement. Cole slides into the back next to Jake and Ivy and slams the door shut. "Nice one," Jake says. "That was disgusting," Ivy remarks, and Cole can't help but chuckle at her as Adam, Cedric, and Daniel enter the truck next, Adam slipping into the driver's seat. They speed off immediately, with the rest of the trucks following them close behind. Adam struggles to keep from colliding into any infected; their numbers are strong farther down the street, and he's suddenly grateful they're getting out now. He only imagine their size building into an unmanageable number as time went on. ---- Hunter rides with Dre, Lienne, and Duke. Duke has taken over the wheel, while Lienne sits in the passenger and Dre sits next to Hunter, a seat in between them. Hunter, admittedly, is slightly frustrated at the sour mood everyone seems to be in. He just survived a plane crash, yet compared to them, it's as if he found a hundred dollar bill on the ground. Still, he finds it isn't his place to prod, but he needs to do something to lift the spirits around here. "So..." Hunter begins. "I've got a question." "Yeah?" Dre says, turning to him. "Just a thought that popped into my head...but who's up for grabs here?" "What do you mean?" "Well, only the women, of course." "...How old are you, bro?" "Thirty three. I'm not a fucking retiree. I'm still functional down there," Hunter says with a smile, slapping Dre on the shoulder. "Shit, man. It's a valid question," Duke says. "You seriously only got chances with Tora and Chloe. What about Farrah, though? What's up with her?" "Oh, Farrah pounces on anything that moves. I've gotten enough of that to last a lifetime." "Might catch something," Lienne says. "Watch out." "Wouldn't be surprised if I did. Girl's got a talent. She's like a...walking, one-woman brothel." Duke laughs loudly, but Hunter is disappointed to see his remark has only elicted small chuckles from Dre and Lienne. Dre shakes his head, but he still has an amused grin on his face as he uncaps his bottle of water and takes a sip. "You sound like quite the ladies man, Hunter. Must've been easy pickings in New York, then," Lienne says. "It was, definitely. Hard to actually find a nice girl, though. An abundance of whores is gonna get you nowhere. And when you look like me, that's all you get." "You talking about the eye thing?" Duke asks. "No one cares about that shit. You don't need superficial bitches, anyway." “Yeah…” Hunter says a little more solemnly, and he settles himself back in his seat. ---- "Me and Adam talked it over, and we decided to make this...public," Cole begins, uttering each word slowly and clearly. They're outside, stopped along the side of some empty road, taking a quick break from the mundane driving. Cole lets his eyes wander over each of the faces standing in front of him; he himself leans against one of the trucks, his knuckles turning white from the tight grip on his cane. He's thought about bringing this up for a while, but with the four newcomers, that means more mouths to feed. No better time than now. "I can't figure it out," Cole admits. "I've...talked to some of you, tried to see if any of you were acting weird--but I seriously can't figure out." "What exactly are you trying to figure out?" Lucy asks. "Some of the food's missing. I'm assuming someone's taking more than their share." "No one here would do that," Tora says. "New guys," Dean mutters. Hunter shoots him a harsh look. "It's been going on for about two weeks. So I'd watch who I put the blame on," Cole says. "Whoever it is," Adam says, stepping forward, "okay--you think we have more food, so it's not a big deal you take a little bit extra. But it's a big fucking deal." There's a silence that lasts too long, as suspicious looks are exchanged. Lucy lets her eyes fall on Dean, then feels a sudden stab of guilt at even considering that it was him. He turns his head slightly, looking back at her, as if he could feel her eyes on him. He meets her gaze, expressionless, and turns back around. Cole watches their wordless exchange, but it still speaks volumes. He can tell something's off--he just doesn't know what. "If it was you--if you know anything, say something. It'll be better for you in the long run if you just fess up," Cole says. He shifts his eyes to Lucy as he says his last words; she meets his gaze, surprised by the obvious accusation in his look. ---- "Just tell me--was it you?" Lucy asks, pulling Dean away as everyone else sets up a few tents farther away. They've decided to stop tonight nearby a section of dense woods, setting up a small campfire a few meters away from the trees. "Excuse me?" he says. "Is it you? Taking the food?" A tremor of hurt crosses his face, but he disposes of it quickly. "You seriously think it was me?" he asks. She hesitates. "I don't know. I don't know who else it could be, Dean." "Look, I already know all the blame's falling on me right now. And I'll say it a million times if I have to: it's not me, and I have no idea who it is." She tries to think of something to say, but he can tell, her suspicions aren't quelled. "And you don't believe me," he says before she can respond. "I'm trying to." And he actually thought she trusted him. He feels ridiculous, believing someone was on his side. “Why’d you even trust me in the first place?” he asks. He looks legitimately pained, waiting for an answer to his question. “I defended you before because...everyone makes you out to be this--shitty person, and I know you’re not. But you have to understand, I don’t know who else the evidence points to.” “How does the evidence point to me, exactly?” “The whole Winston situation. He’s gone, and...you’re the only other person that’s been suspected of double crossing us before.” “Great point. Couldn’t be the little kid, couldn’t be the boyfriend, couldn’t be the leader. All perfect little saints, right?” he says, his voice laced with contempt. He begins to walk away, but Lucy stops herself in front of him. “Wait,” she says. “I don’t want you to think I’m against you. ‘Cause I’m not, and if it came off that way, I’m sorry. I just want to find out what’s going on as much as everyone else does.” “Right. But of course, I’m still the first and only suspect. Do you know how easy it is to turn the blame on anyone else here?” She doesn’t respond, expecting him to go on. “Let’s take you, for example.” “Me?” “Yes. And just to warn you, this doesn’t mean I’m against you.” She nearly scoffs at his obvious mockery. “But let’s take you and go back about a year. You’re back in the hotel, you’re sitting cozy, and these new people come along. One of ‘em, he catches your eye, but your dad--he notices something off about this guy, thinks he’s up to no good. So you, being the dutiful daughter you are, you find out what this new guy’s up to. And you can tell he’s got it bad for you--it’s really obvious, and you use that to your advantage. Turns out, this new guy’s up and ready to out your dad for being a secretive piece of shit, but you’re not having that--of course not. "So you tell your dad everything he’s been up to," Dean continues. "Every little thing, even though this guy trusted you. Poor guy just lost his girlfriend, too--probably vulnerable as all hell because of it--but here you are, playing with his mind like that. How’s that sound, hearing it back? Really fucking manipulative and selfish, right? Or is just me?” Lucy’s at a loss for words; she has no idea how he recollected the story in such detail. A smirk crosses his face, and he leans in closer, speaking softly: “You think you’ve got friends here, but gossip spreads fast. You think people forget, but they don’t.” “That was a year ago,” she says. “Who cares? You’re not denying it. Everyone knows you’ve got a history with this manipulative shit--who’s to say you wouldn’t take a couple cans of food and lie about it like it was nothing? What makes you better than me, Lucy? You knew--you fucking knew--Cole’s girlfriend just died. He probably needed someone to confide in, to take his mind off of her--and then he meets you. And you willingly twist his fucking mind for your own gain, and all the evidence points to me?” He nearly shouts it. “And don’t say it doesn’t fucking matter anymore, because it does!” he shouts as she opens her mouth to speak. “What the hell’s going on?” Cole calls out, walking over with a look of concern on his face. Lucy’s fists are balled at her sides, and as he walks over, she and Dean keep their anger focused on each other, apparently not noticing that he has approached. “Fuck you,” she says to Dean, but her voice trembles with hurt. “Whoa,” Cole says, placing a hand on her shoulder and stepping between her and Dean, “what’s the problem?” “Should I remind him, or should you?” Dean asks. “Don’t--” she says, stepping forward angrily, but Cole doesn’t let her get far. “Fine,” Dean says, and he takes one last glance at Cole before walking past them. Cole turns his attention to Lucy, surprised when he sees that her eyes are moist with tears. “Remind me of what?” Cole asks, but she doesn’t respond. “Remind me of what, Lucy?” “Nothing. Forget it,” she says, but he’s not buying it. “What’s wrong? What’d he say?” “Can you just leave it alone? Please?” He’s taken aback by her sudden harsh tone, but worry has overtaken curiosity. “It was nothing,” she reassures. He searches her eyes for a moment; she almost looks remorseful, but he has no idea why. "Okay," he says with a nod. "We're getting ready to eat, anyway." ---- "You feeling okay, Dre?" Lienne asks. She sits around the slow burning campfire next to him. His face is contorted with pain, and his arm is wrapped around his stomach. "Yeah, yeah. I--I'm good," he mutters, unconvincingly. Lienne gives him a concerned look, but he brushes it off with a wave of his hand. She scurries off quickly to one of the tents, then returns with a small brown bag. She undoes one of the latches and reaches her hand inside. "Might be some medicine in here..." she says under her breath, scouring through the bottles of pills. "Is it your stomach?" "Yeah." "What the hell...?" She reaches as far down as she can, then pulls her hand out with a frustrated sigh. "I thought we had some...ibuprofen or something left. Sorry." She sets the bag beside her, and when she turns back to him, the agony on his face is unmistakable. She puts a hand on his shoulder and leans in close. “You sure you’re okay?” “I….shit, I don’t know,” he groans. He tries to sit up, but immediately falls onto his backside again. “Chloe said it’ll probably pass by morning, but damn.” “You should probably get some rest,” Lienne suggests. It looks like his dinner is on the verge of coming back up, so she scoots back just a little. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a struggle, he rises to his feet and stumbles over to his tent. Before he gets there, he suddenly stops, clutches his chest, and collapses into the grass. ---- “Dre! Yo, open your eyes man!” Duke shouts in Dre’s face. Dre still lies on the ground, but he’s since been turned over, and Duke has a firm grip on his shoulders. Dre’s body shakes slightly and he mutters a few indiscernible words, but otherwise, he’s unresponsive. “What the hell’s wrong with him?” Duke asks, turning his head to look at Lienne, who kneels next to him with tear-filled eyes. “I don’t know! He just--fucking collapsed!” she says. Heads poke out of tents, and curious faces soon shift to panic. “What happened?” Chloe says, rushing over. She falls to her knees next to them, and she pushes Duke out of her way a little more harshly than she meant to. “He just--he was walking to his tent and he fell over,” Lienne says. Lienne watches, terrified, as the rising and falling of Dre’s chest slows steadily. “Is he breathing?” Chloe leans her ear close to his mouth; his breath comes in faint, shaky bursts. “Barely,” she mutters. Immediately, she tilts his head back and puts her mouth to his, initiating CPR. Everyone else gathers in a circle around them, their hands covering their mouths and their eyes plastered to the scene. Chloe continues the CPR for a few minutes, but she knows she’s making no progress. She feels the panic set in, looking at the life slowly seeping out of Dre’s face. She freezes with her hands pressed against his chest. He’s not breathing anymore. With shaking hands, she presses two fingers to his neck. “He’s dead,” she says. ---- Chloe sits in her tent with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head held in her hands. They haven't even buried Dre yet. Outside, she can hear arguing in the form of harsh, accusatory yells. "You don't just fucking fall over and die!" "Someone needs to make sure he doesn't turn." "I'm not fucking doing it." She's able to block them out for a while, until she hears a loud grunt and then a disgusting crack. "There," she hears Cedric say, and the arguing unravels into silence. She sits in that same position for a while, unmoving. It'll pass by morning, she told him. We'll get you some medicine tomorrow, she'd said. But then, he doesn't get a tomorrow. It's not like she blames herself. She doesn't have a whole arsenal of medical equipment to work with; even if she knew it was this serious, there was nothing she or anyone else could've done. She's more repulsed by the fact that someone else is gone, and after Mae, she's not sure she can take more of this. Worrying and wondering about who's next, and the added stress of some kind of saboteur among people she thought she trusted, has recently become too much to handle. By the time she lifts her head up again, the setting sun has completely disappeared, and it's pitch black. She reaches for the lamp next to her pile of blankets, but before she can shut it off, she hears footsteps approaching her tent. She freezes. "Hey, Chloe, you in there?" It's Adam's voice. "Yeah," she says, and she pulls her hand away from the lamp and assumes her previous position. "Is it cool to come in?" She gives him the go ahead and watches as he unzips the tent and peeks his head in. He forces a smile and enters fully, zipping the tent closes afterward. "I just saw your lamp was still on and wanted to see if you were doing alright," he says. "Yeah, I'm okay." "Good, good." He clears his throat during a long pause. "We're all, uh--trying to wrap our heads around it." "You didn't bury him, did you?" "No, not yet. We're all kinda dead right now so--" He stops himself and hesitates. "Wow, bad word choice. Sorry. Just mean we're gonna do it tomorrow. Long day today." She nods and averts her eyes down. He can tell she's exhausted, so he wants to make this as quick as he can. "And I was just wondering," Adam continues, and she looks up again, "if you knew anything about what was wrong with him. Lienne said he was complaining about his stomach, but nothing about his heart or chest or anything." "He only told me about his stomach. Everything else, he told me, was fine," she says. "Oh. That settles that, then. Thanks. I'll...see you tomorrow." He's about to rise, but he's stopped by a hand on his arm. "Who...put him down? God, that sounds so terrible..." "Nah, it's fine. I volunteered to, but Cedric did it anyway. Said he had no connection to Dre, he didn't want any of us having to do it." "You volunteered?" she asks. "Yeah," he says, and he swallows hard. "It's not like I was fucking eager to do it. I'm like...I feel responsible for you guys. It's always fucked up, doing something like that, so I'd rather...I'd rather do it than one of you guys." He sighs loudly and scratches his head. "I'm doing a terrible fucking job, right?" "What?" "We've got people dying, someone stealing our damn food, four new people we probably won't be able to feed--I'm...I'm doing something wrong." "None of that's your fault, though. I don't think anyone here would want anybody else in your position. There's no one better for the job." He laughs softly. "Sure. Thanks," he says. "Wouldn't lie to you, Adam." "You would." "Who else can you imagine trying to lead this crazy group of people? Besides, it's kind of...I don't know, it's good to see you being kind of bossy for once." "For once?" he says. "Yeah, for once. Super sweet Adam's long gone. You should embrace it." He rolls his eyes and looks at her. "Yeah, I'll try. Goodnight." He about to stand, but he notices something looks different about her. He can't pinpoint it exactly, but when she kisses him, he gets his answer but his mind is simultaneously filled with a million questions as well. He savors it for a few seconds, then pulls away. He must look completely baffled, because she observes him with a curious expression. "Why'd you do that?" he asks. "I--don't know. Sorry." "Don't apologize. Just...why?" "You--you're different, I guess. I don't know, I just...did it," she says, waiting for some kind of reaction. "You don't have to be awkward about it. Say something." "I, uh--thank you? I mean, it's nice to know you like me enough...to kiss me." He sighs. "What the hell am I saying?" She smiles at him, and, to save him from his embarrassment, kisses him again. ---- The early riser, Cole wakes Lucy first, then proceeds around the other tents to remind the others it's time to bury Dre. The earlier they get it done, the better in his eyes. He's hesitant to admit it, but he can't keep his eyes off that pamphlet of Los Angeles. The possibility of it all is so enticing, and he finds himself in the occasional daydream, wondering if they'll get there, what's the west coast like, if he can actually start a life there. He wants to get there as soon as they can, so he's ready to hit the road again. "Wake up, wake up," he calls out, passing by Chloe's tent. He hits the tent with his cane a few times, then stops when he hears a tired groan. And soon afterward: "Oh, shit." "Adam?" Cole says incredulously. "Oh, my God, no way." Adam pulls open the tent zipper, still pulling his shirt over his head. "Anybody else out here?" he asks, stepping out of the tent. "Nah, not yet," Cole says. He can't help but peek inside, and he sees Chloe still in the tent, confirming his suspicious. Cole has the urge to jump up and down; he would, if it wasn't terribly painful. "You...holy shit, you did, didn't you?" "Shut up, man, it's not the time," Adam says. "Why are you so angry? You just--" "Seriously, stop. And don't say anything." "Of course not. Scout's honor...but you know about that, right?" "Holy shit, bro, you're disgusting," Adam says, and he pushes past him with a shake of his head. Cole smiles to himself, until he sees Adam approach a nearby tree and pull out a body wrapped tightly in blankets. Cole feels his grin fade just as fast as it appeared. Time for another burial. Category:Dead Frontier Category:Dead Frontier Issues Category:Issues